Gene Goodreault
.png) |
|
| Date of birth | July 31, 1918 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Haverhill, Massachusetts |
| Date of death | July 13, 2010 (aged 91) |
| Place of death | Orinda, California |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | E |
| College | Boston College |
| NFL draft | 1941 / Round: 2 / Pick: 15 |
| Drafted by | Detroit Lions |
Eugene Joseph "Gene" Goodreault (July 31, 1918 – July 13, 2010), was an American football player. He played at the end position for Boston College from 1938 to 1940 and was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1940. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
Goodreault was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1917. His parents were Eugene J. Goodreault and Rose M. (Paquette) Goodreault. He attended Haverhill High School where he was known as "Goo-Goo" Goodreault and was a member of the football, baseball and track teams.
Goodreault enrolled at Boston College in 1937. The school's publicity director, Billy Sullivan (later owner of the New England Patriots) befriended Goodreault and helped him to obtain therapy to overcome a speech impediment.
As a member of Boston College's football team, Goodreault was five feet, ten inches tall and weighed 180 pounds. His profile at the College Football Hall of Fame described him as follows: "Fast, powerful and alert, Gene Goodreault was outstanding as a pass-catcher and play-maker blocker on offense and as a play-blaster, destructive tackler on defense." In 1939, Goodreault's junior year, Frank Leahy was hired as the head of the Boston College Eagles football team. Goodreault helped lead the Eagles to a 9-2 record and the school's first bowl game, and appearance in the 1940 Cotton Bowl. At the end of the 1939 season, Goodreault received All-East honors and was also the first recipient of the George H. "Bulger" Lowe Trophy in 1940 as the outstanding football player in New England.
As a senior, Goodreault was a member of the 1940 Boston College team that compiled an undefeated record of 11-0, outscored opponents 320 to 52, recorded six shutouts, and defeated #6 Tennessee in the 1941 Sugar Bowl. After the season, Goodreault was selected as a consensus player on the 1940 College Football All-America Team. He received first-team honors from, among others, the United Press, the International News Service, the Central Press Association, and Collier's Weekly (selected by Grantland Rice).
...
Wikipedia